several hours of daylight left. The groom quickly
saddled Crusader. When the groom gave her a boot up, she welcomed
the exhilaration she always felt in the saddle with the world
before her. She meant to ride to the furthermost end of the island
and be by herself to think.
“You don’t mind if I
ride along with you, do you, Miss Hastings?”
She did not want
Matthew’s intrusion, but she could not refuse. After all, he was
still her employer. It seemed the less she wanted to see him, the
more she felt she needed to be near him. Her head felt it would
burst with all these contradictions.
She tried to keep her
annoyance from showing in her answer. “No, of course not, your
lordship.”
They rode along in
silence for some time until Matthew spoke. “Missing your family,
Miss Hastings?”
Startled, Julie
replied, “Yes, I suppose I am. My cousin and I are more like
sisters than cousins. She’s my last living relative, you know. I
watched with envy as all the families danced and sang and were
having such a good time at the games. It would be nice to have
cousins, or brothers and sisters even. It brought home to me how
alone in the world I am. It’s sobering and a bit depressing. I
can’t seem to shake the feeling.”
“Surely you must have
more cousins or aunts and uncles. I must admit I have some I would
rather not own, but they’re there just the same.”
“I’m afraid it’s the
other way around with us. Our relatives would rather not own us. My
mother’s and father’s families were feuding over a piece of land.
Because of the feud, they had to elope. When the families found
out, both sides disowned them. Hannah’s mother—my mother’s
sister—sided with my mother, and she found herself disowned as
well. There is a large family somewhere with my parents’ names, but
they would never recognize us, so I guess you could say we
have…that is…I have no one. I remember an aunt on my father’s side
who sent us Christmas presents, but my father made us send them
back. After several years of returned presents, she quit sending
them.”
“You’ve never tried to
contact them, even after your parents died?”
“What would have been
the point? There were no sweeter or kinder people in the world than
my mother and father. If their families treated them so cruelly,
then I could certainly expect no better,” Julie said bitterly.
Matthew set about to
make himself agreeable and cheer her up. He kept up an easy banter,
his jokes so ridiculous she smiled. Soon laughter followed.
“Now that’s much
better. Beautiful women should never be blue-deviled. It’s against
the laws of nature,” he teased.
“I don’t feel so
beautiful today. I feel a hundred years somehow,” Julie said with a
wrinkle of her nose.
“Trust me, my dear,
you’re very beautiful today, as always. Maybe even more so, and
especially at this moment.”
Julie looked away.
Suddenly, she spurred her horse. “See if you can catch the wind,”
she called over her shoulder as she raced off toward the nearest
hill.
Matthew lightly kneed
his horse, and soon they were neck and neck. They raced at
breakneck speed, jumping over stumps, fallen logs, and dodging
low-hanging branches. Neither gave way but continued in a dead
heat. He glanced at Julie, and her eyes glowed with excitement. He
could still see the young girl in her face. When on guard, the
daredevil hid behind the sophisticated woman. A need to experience
life, taste what life had to offer, lay just beneath her
sophisticated veneer and could not be hidden.
The road lay up ahead,
and soon their race would end. Julie did not rein in her horse
until she hit the sandy beach. Both their mounts now waded in the
cool, salty ocean. Julie quickly guided her horse back on the shore
and started walking him to cool him down.
She looked over at
Matthew from under long black eyelashes and said with a gleam of
amusement in her eyes, “I won, you know. You reined in too
soon.”
“If I had not,
saddled Crusader. When the groom gave her a boot up, she welcomed
the exhilaration she always felt in the saddle with the world
before her. She meant to ride to the furthermost end of the island
and be by herself to think.
“You don’t mind if I
ride along with you, do you, Miss Hastings?”
She did not want
Matthew’s intrusion, but she could not refuse. After all, he was
still her employer. It seemed the less she wanted to see him, the
more she felt she needed to be near him. Her head felt it would
burst with all these contradictions.
She tried to keep her
annoyance from showing in her answer. “No, of course not, your
lordship.”
They rode along in
silence for some time until Matthew spoke. “Missing your family,
Miss Hastings?”
Startled, Julie
replied, “Yes, I suppose I am. My cousin and I are more like
sisters than cousins. She’s my last living relative, you know. I
watched with envy as all the families danced and sang and were
having such a good time at the games. It would be nice to have
cousins, or brothers and sisters even. It brought home to me how
alone in the world I am. It’s sobering and a bit depressing. I
can’t seem to shake the feeling.”
“Surely you must have
more cousins or aunts and uncles. I must admit I have some I would
rather not own, but they’re there just the same.”
“I’m afraid it’s the
other way around with us. Our relatives would rather not own us. My
mother’s and father’s families were feuding over a piece of land.
Because of the feud, they had to elope. When the families found
out, both sides disowned them. Hannah’s mother—my mother’s
sister—sided with my mother, and she found herself disowned as
well. There is a large family somewhere with my parents’ names, but
they would never recognize us, so I guess you could say we
have…that is…I have no one. I remember an aunt on my father’s side
who sent us Christmas presents, but my father made us send them
back. After several years of returned presents, she quit sending
them.”
“You’ve never tried to
contact them, even after your parents died?”
“What would have been
the point? There were no sweeter or kinder people in the world than
my mother and father. If their families treated them so cruelly,
then I could certainly expect no better,” Julie said bitterly.
Matthew set about to
make himself agreeable and cheer her up. He kept up an easy banter,
his jokes so ridiculous she smiled. Soon laughter followed.
“Now that’s much
better. Beautiful women should never be blue-deviled. It’s against
the laws of nature,” he teased.
“I don’t feel so
beautiful today. I feel a hundred years somehow,” Julie said with a
wrinkle of her nose.
“Trust me, my dear,
you’re very beautiful today, as always. Maybe even more so, and
especially at this moment.”
Julie looked away.
Suddenly, she spurred her horse. “See if you can catch the wind,”
she called over her shoulder as she raced off toward the nearest
hill.
Matthew lightly kneed
his horse, and soon they were neck and neck. They raced at
breakneck speed, jumping over stumps, fallen logs, and dodging
low-hanging branches. Neither gave way but continued in a dead
heat. He glanced at Julie, and her eyes glowed with excitement. He
could still see the young girl in her face. When on guard, the
daredevil hid behind the sophisticated woman. A need to experience
life, taste what life had to offer, lay just beneath her
sophisticated veneer and could not be hidden.
The road lay up ahead,
and soon their race would end. Julie did not rein in her horse
until she hit the sandy beach. Both their mounts now waded in the
cool, salty ocean. Julie quickly guided her horse back on the shore
and started walking him to cool him down.
She looked over at
Matthew from under long black eyelashes and said with a gleam of
amusement in her eyes, “I won, you know. You reined in too
soon.”
“If I had not,
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